Product Description And Additional Pictures

Cranberry glass - or 'Rubino Oro' - as it is known by glass workers, is a stunning red glass made by adding gold chloride to molten glass. The gold chloride is made by dissolving gold in a solution of nitro-hydrochloric acid - known in ancient times as "aqua regia" - because the solution could dissolve the royal metals gold and silver. The chemical properties of cranberry glass were never fully understood until Richard Adolf Zsigmondy, the 1925 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry, explained that small colloids of gold were responsible for the red color. In other words, a solid phase of one property - in this case, gold - was dispersed inside another solid phase, namely glass.

Some historians believe that a form of cranberry glass was first made in the late Roman Empire. We know for a certainty that this colorful glass was made by the great Florentine glassmaker Antonio Neri (1576 - 1614). However, cranberry glass reached its height of popularity in 19th century Britain during the Victorian era, when it was made into table displays, often holding confectioneries or flowers. Cranberry glass was also frequently used for wine glasses, decanters, and finger bowls. Although molded cranberry glass can be found, it typically tends to be blown.

We have six, beautiful cranberry glass cordials in perfect vintage condition. Slightly more modern in origin, we believe they were probably made about fifty to sixty years ago, from 1950 to 1965. It is possible that the cordials were made earlier - say from 1920 to 1940 - but they would probably have had etched or painted gilt designs if they were made during those years. Certainly nothing like this was made from 1940 to 1950, when all available resources were being directed to national defense and then to the war effort.

Our cranberry cordials have no chips or cracks, deep scratches or repaired surfaces on the bowls the stems, or the bases. They are in absolutely lovely condition and are beautiful to boot, with a molded cranberry bowl set a top a gracefully curved clear base. Our cordials stand 4-3/4" in height, have a 2-1/8" diameter bowl, and a 2-1/4" diameter base. They would be lovely paired with a cut glass decanter and placed on a nicely polished round silver tray!

We are offering $5.00 shipping on this beautiful cranberry cordial set!